Cop Suspended For Letter Asking For Free Ice Cream

A police officer has been suspended after a signed and stamped letter asking an ice cream chain to give him a big bucket of the stuff every day was leaked online.

The note bore the signature of police officer Carlos Gustavo Aguirre and the official stamp of police station No 19 in the city of Corrientes, in the province of the same name in north-eastern Argentina.

Sent to the general manager of the Grido Helado ice cream chain, who has not been named, it appeared to offer police co-operation in exchange for one kilogramme (2.2 lbs) of ice cream per day for Aguirre and his fellow officers to share.

Pictures Credit: CEN & CEN/GridoHelados

The letter said: “I am writing to ask you for, in the way of valuable cooperation, ice cream, which could be given once per day.

“The request is for the consumption of the police department staff, who are on guard duty, on the date of this letter.”

And it ended: “This is all I ask and I take the opportunity of saying hello, yours sincerely and thanking you in advance for your cooperation.”

But the letter sparked local outrage and accusations of corruption after a photograph of the letter was posted on the WhatsApp messaging app. It is unclear who posted it there.

Local media named the officer as Carlos Gustavo Aguirre and reported that he had been suspended.

City police chief Felix Barboza confirmed the note – and the request for free ice cream – appeared to be genuine.

He said: “Internal Affairs are investigating the case and we have adopted corrective measures and ordered his transfer.”

Corrientes was immortalised as the setting for the British writer Graham Greene’s classic 1973 novel, The Honorary Consul.